The Dream Land
by EternalHime
Summary: We all have our inner demons, some have stronger ones than others. This girl has one that's been buried deep inside her, the current events in Jump City causing it to surface and force her current mind into The Dream Land...


**The Dream Land**

**Chapter 1: First Visit**

-:-

It was dark. A shapeless void of nothingness accented only by a caress of never ending black. It was cold. Shivers raced down her spine and she felt as if ice were crawling up her body, eager to capture her last breath within a tomb of frigid coldness.

She sat down and pulled her knees up to her chest, looking for any way to keep even remotely warm. Her skin crawled with goose bumps as she squeezed her eyes shut and hoped for a savior, for someone to bring her out of her cold misery.

Her plea was heard, but not answered.

Instead a breeze began to blow, tossing her hair to and fro. The winds force began to grow, growing stronger with, what seemed, each beat of her wildly racing heart. The tribal dance within her body kept on as an immense pain grew within her stomach. Saliva filled to her mouth as she bent over and heaved. Bile rushed through her throat and exited her wide open mouth, creating a pool of disgusting waste in front of her. The putrid smell rose to her nostrils and she heaved again, adding to the gross puddle before her.

Collapsing to the side of her nasty stomach acid she curled up into a little ball and shut her eyes tight, wishing all of her pain to go away. She held her stomach tight as slowly and surely the pain began to ebb away, leaving her breathing normal and only the foul, sour taste in her mouth.

The winds still rushed around her making her hair seem alive like an electrical current was running through it. Strands flew around like angry snakes reaching out to bite anyone or anything that came near it.

Then, as if it felt its job was done, the wind stopped abruptly and the girl was left in the dark void once again. Only the void, feeling as if its job too were done, dissipated, dissolved and disappeared. Reaching out a fearful hand and girl felt nervously around her. Instead of being greeted by nothingness or her previous discharge she was greeted with soft, lush grass.

She dared to open her eyes and found that she was surrounded by grass and trees, long branches hanging over her like a canopy though letting streams of quenching moon beams through to warm to girls shivering body. She relished in the light, savored it and her body drank it up, healing like a charging battery.

Using wobbly legs, as if never used, the girl stood up, relying heavily on the tree beside her. She pushed off and stepped onto a path that seemed to have magically appeared. Dirt crunched beneath her feet as she began to walk, not knowing where she was going but hoping to find something, some other life form that could help her.

_Come to me_

She spun around quickly, almost immediately regretting the decision as her head began to pound. Who had spoken? There was nobody in the forest but she.

_Come to me, darling…_

Her feet began to move faster on the path, her beady eyes glancing nervously from left to right into the depths of the trees. It was only now that she realized that she could not see past the first line of trees, the rest of the forest was cloaked in darkness, blanketed in blackness for no one to see.

Something moved to her left and she dropped down into a stance, nervous to fight anything that was ready to come at her. A branch bounced lightly as if mocking her, leaves falling lightly to the ground around a pink flower, one the girl had never laid eyes upon. It was strange, with only three petals and a long green stem.

This time she heard a rustle to her right and found that it was her time to go. She began to walk down the path once more, only having to moon to guide her. But the scenery around her never changed, staying the same, never changing from the usual pattern.

She heard steps behind her, masking their thumps with hers. She stopped. So did the steps. She began to walk again, though it quickly turned into a jog. She looked behind her only to see nothing but the fading path, never straying from the look that was before her. The footsteps continued behind her, matching her steps once again. Her jog turned into a full out sprint as she ran along the path but kept glancing behind her, hoping to be able to see her pursuer.

Looking behind her one last time she turn ahead and stopped immediately, realizing that the path stopped and ended in a jagged cliff. She stopped mere inches from the drop off and dirt flew into the blackness of the chasm below her.

_You must stay away from him…_

She was beginning to become scared, clenching her fists and gulping down her nervousness she responded. "Stay away from whom?"

_You must stay away from Robin…_

She gasped. Robin? "But why, what have I done to him? He's my friend!" Her fists clenched harder with anger, leaving nail marks upon her palm.

_You must stay away…_

"But _why_?" she called out in frustration. "What if I don't?"

She heard the crunch of footsteps behind her and turned only in time to see a pale hand on her shoulder and silvery hair as she was shoved over the edge of the cliff.

_If you don't…_

Her hands flew out as she reached towards the edge and let out a blood curdling scream.

…_Then you both shall suffer!_

-:-

Raven shot up from her bed, screaming. Perspiration coated her body, running down her back and her face. She felt her bed around her to make sure that she was in her room and not on some strange forest floor. Sure enough her black sheets were there along with her purple covers.

Her chest heaved as she lay back down and thought of her strange dream. Stay away from Robin? Dreams of hers like these weren't to be easily dismissed. It meant something… but what? And why?

She was about to roll out of her bed to get a glass of water when a strong pain began in her stomach, just like in her dream. The pain began to grow and she clasped her stomach tight, hoping that would make it go away. Saliva came to her mouth and she felt the dinner that she had had previously that night begin to inch its way up. She rolled out of bed and collapsed on the ground.

_I've got to get to the bathroom_

The dark haired girl began to crawl towards her door its tall edifice loomed over her as she pressed the button to open it all the way. Much to her surprise, standing in her doorway, hand poised to knock, was none other than Robin.

"Raven!" he cried. Kneeling down he placed one of her arms around his shoulders and hooked one of his arms around her waist to keep her standing. "What happened? I heard you scream."

Raven mumbled something too soft for Robin to hear. He leaned in closer. "What did you say?"

"Bathroom…" she said. "I need to get to the bathroom!" she said louder as she wretched herself from his arms and leaned heavily on the wall, inching towards the bathroom while holding her stomach. She began to run, only making her stomach feel worse and the bile rise quicker. She began to wobble, unable to keep steady as she heard Robin call her name behind her. Inches from the bathroom door she stumbled and lost her balance, making a hard collision with the ground, creating a massive headache. She closed her eyes and groaned, curling into a ball as she held her stomach in pain.

_Almost there, come on Raven you can make it_

Ignoring the pain for a split second Raven rolled over and shot up, Making a mad dash for the toilets. Falling in front of one she leaned over and heaved, shutting her eyes tight as her insides flew into the toilet. She felt Robin come up behind her and pull her hair out of her face. Unable to send him a thank you, Raven continued to empty her stomach into the toilet. Glass all around them shattered and fell to the floor, each glittering piece seeming sharper and more deadly than the next

Robin's head was turned away. He couldn't bear to see her eject that much fluid from her body. And puke was one thing he was never fond of. Even when she stopped he didn't dare look, the smell of puke already rising. Only it was strange… Robin could detect a distinguishable copper smell, a smell he had come well accustomed with.

He heard her gasp and shut the toilet seat, blocking any view of her previous discharge. Slowly she turned around and placed her body in front of the toilet, not allowing Robin near it. He knew she was trying to hide it from him, but he already knew what it was. Some was dripping from the side of her mouth, which she had yet to wipe.

Her eyes danced around nervously, looking for anyway out of the bathroom beyond Robin. Finding no way she decided to just dash for the door, but she wasn't quick enough. Robin caught her from behind and spun her around, pinning her to the ground. Raven squirmed around, trying to get out of her leaders hold, but she knew it was no use. She had seen Robin train and knew how much muscle was underneath that boy wonder costume. Though she knew her efforts were futile Raven kept squirming until Robin had to pin her legs with his and grab her arms in a tight grasp.

"You're hurting me!" she cried out as she arched her back in another effort to be free from his grasp. Another glass shattered and a picture on the wall to Raven's right was torn to pieces. Robin was beginning to become uncomfortable with the way Raven was moving. Each time she arched her back and her stomach came in connection with his was making the boy wonder strangely enough more and more uncomfortable. "Let me go!" she cried again.

"Get a hold of yourself, Raven!" Robin was starting to get worried about his friend. Each breath she took now seemed not to come easy, having to strain to let the oxygen into her lungs. As she was gasping for breath Robin also realized that her eyes were wide, wider than he'd ever seen them before. He looked more closely and was immensely startled by what he saw. Her irises seemed to be fighting to stay purple, battling with the color black. Her eye color flickered from black to purple, black seeming to be dominating over the latter.

_What is going on?_ Robin couldn't fathom what was happening to Raven. Then, as if it had never happened, she stopped squirming, her irises settled on purple and Raven could breath easy.

Robin knew that the other Titans would be there soon so he grabbed both sides of Raven's head and looked her deep in the eyes.

"Raven," he said, eager to get his questions in before the others arrived, "What is going on?" She looked at him with frightened eyes that Robin saw only once on her face before and never wanted to see again.

"I… I don't know," she whispered, her face more pale than ever. Compared to her black leotard her skin seemed white as snow, fallen crisply on an early winder morning.

Robin looked into her eyes, confused. "What's happening to you?" he asked. "Why are you throwing up blood?"

Before Raven had a chance to answer the door to the bathroom was filled with the rest of the Teen Titans. Starfire gasped.

"Dude," Beastboy started. "What is going on in here?"

"Robin," Cyborg stared at their awkward position, Ravens face still captured within his palms. "Is there something you'd like to share with us?"

Raven stared at Robin, begging him not to tell what had previously happened. Robin was already prepared with an excuse.

"I caught Raven sleepwalking," he said. "I tried to wake her up but she began to struggle so I had pin her down. Her powers caused the mess," he explained. The Titans Oh-ed but still had suspicious looks on their faces. Especially Starfire, who, before she left, turned and said,

"But must you be so close now that she is cured of the walking in the sleep?"

Robin looked down and nodded, standing to the side of Raven. "Right, now go to sleep, Star. You'll need rest for tomorrow." Robin reached down his hand and helped Raven up as Starfire turned and left for her room.

Raven wrapped her cloak around her body securely and turned away from Robin, ashamed. "Thanks for not telling," she said quietly, so quietly Robin had to lean in to hear her.

"Raven, you need to tell me what's—"

"Please don't tell anyone what you saw," she said fiercely as she turned sharply to him, the depths of her eyes burning with a menacing fire. With that said she turned to leave but Robin reached out and grabbed her arm in an iron grip. Raven growled. "Robin let me go. You don't need to get caught up in this. Unlike my father this is something I can handle on my own."

"Raven, listen to me, we are your friends. Let us help you, let me help you," his eyes softened as well as his grip on her arm. "I can tell that something is wrong. We have a bond, remember?" His soft eyes turned pleading as he placed his other hand on her shoulder.

Raven pulled her shoulder away from his hand, though still unable to get her arm out of his grip. "Robin I think you'd rather not be inside my head. You don't know what kind of things go on in there. And don't pry into my emotions," she said coldly. With that she ripped her arm from Robins grip and teleported to her room, sinking beneath the floor.

"Raven!" Robin called as he reached out to her but was seconds to late as she disappeared from his sight.

Robin sighed as he placed a gloved hand to his forehead, cursing Raven's stubborn behavior. Looking at the mess in the bathroom he groaned and walked over to the toilet, flushing so that the other Titans wouldn't see what Raven had done. Walking over to the corner he pulled out a broom and began to sweep up all of the broken glass.

-:-

My first Teen Titans fic! I must say, I'm pleased with the way the first chapter came out. I hope you like too, and feel free to review, constructive criticism is welcome!

EternalHime


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